Did you know that one of the most iconic, and terrifying, horror films of all time, The Exorcist, is based on a true story, the possession of Roland Doe? Roland Doe is an alias. The boy’s real name has been kept secret for decades to protect him, until now.
The magazine Skeptical Inquirer has now named the boy from the real 1949 possession case as Roland Edwin Hunkeler, who passed away last year just before his 86th birthday after suffering from a stroke at this home in Marriottsville, Maryland. Roland was a Nasa engine and contributed to the Apollo space mission and patented the tech that helps space shuttles panels withstand the heat of entering and exiting the earth’s atmosphere. A female friend of Roland’s told the New York Post that Hunkeler was terrified of people, especially his colleagues, discovering his secret.
Directed by William Friedkin, The Exorcist took inspiration from Hunkler’s possession that occurred in the 1940s when he was 14 years old. Several Catholic priests worked to free Hunkeler from his demons, with priest Raymond J. Bishop heading up the case. The story of the possession filled newspapers in and around Cottage City, Maryland, which got the attention of the church.
David Gordan Green, the filmmaker behind the new Halloween franchise, is gearing up to make a new The Exorcist trilogy for Blumhouse. Academy-Award® Nominee Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton, One Night In Miami) is set to star alongside Ellen Burstyn, who played the iconic role of Regan’s mother, Chris MacNeil, in the original 1973 film, which scored her an Academy Award nomination. You can read more about that here.
